The Colorado Small Business Development Center has opened a Cortez office at 31 W. Main St., in the same space as the Cortez Area Chamber of Commerce.

Office Manager Mary Shepherd said office personnel will be available for one-on-one business consulting.

“This gives us a better, more confidential space,” she said.

People at the center can help businesses with marketing, growth planning, investing and other topics, according to the center’s website.

Liz Ross said they will be doing a needs assessment that will help identify services that local businesses could benefit from. They will also offer workshops on business topics such as entrepreneurship, she said.

Some top priorities for the center will be helping businesses with marketing, including social media, and financial literacy, Shepherd said.

Ross said the center also will put emphasis on helping businesses owned by women and minorities. The Cortez office will be a “hot spot” for entrepreneurs from the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, she said.

Agribusiness activity is increasing in Cortez, and another priority will be to help existing businesses in that field, Ross said.

“Things have picked up here,” she said.

For more information, contact Shepherd at 247-7009 or visit the center’s website, sbdcfortlewis.org.

jacobk@the-journal.com